F35s: Let’s see it and hear it

December 9, 2016

The Idaho National Guard announced Wednesday that Boise’s Gowen Field is one of five locations the U.S. Air Force is considering as a base for about 18 F-35 fighter jets.

The announcement, featured in the STATESMAN is just another in a long line of moves which have never included direct citizen input to the Air Force, Dept. of Defense, or the Federal Aviation Administration regarding the F-35. Boise’s airport flew banners “supporting the F-35” in the terminal and the City Council has gone on record supporting basing the noisy fighter in the most densely populated area between Salt Lake City and Seattle–Boise.

The GUARDIAN offers a challenge to the Idaho Air Guard and the U.S. Air Force: before you do any more projections, surveys, studies, open houses, community meetings, or public hearings: LET US HEAR THE DAMNED AIRPLANE!

We are sick and tired of having the Secretary of the Air Force sneak into town and refuse to meet with citizens (or the media), the city council endorsing the F-35, assorted sound surveys based on computer models, and projections.

When the airport director held an open house Nov. 16, the room was overcapacity at 150 citizens who didn’t want to hear her sales pitch. They wanted the F-35 or F-15 to be based at Mountain Home AFB.

The F-35 program is so wrapped in politics, those of us who pay the bills will be forced to listen to the “found of freedom” make our homes uninhabitable. The GUARDIAN has attended several meetings of nearby residents and local government officials. Each time the locals claim they have no influence over the United States Department of Defense.

When citizens complained they are barred from serving on various airport committees the answer was, those positions are for “technical experts,” who understand aviation, construction, etc. We got the same line from an Air Guard spokesman–verbatim.

The easy answer to this issue is to give the citizens of the area equal time and access as the politicos meeting with the Air Force Brass. There are plenty of aircraft in the inventory including cargo aircraft like the C-130 or C-17 that are not as noisy as the fighters. Even the refueling KC-135 and KC-10 are similar to their commercial airliner relatives when it comes to noise.

Our early New Year’s resolution is to have a pair of F-35 fighters come into Boise and demonstrate their standard take-off and landing procedures, including afterburner operation, “fighter approaches” with the tight flyby and return to the runway. The event should be publicized and decibel meters should record the noise levels. It’s not rocket science!